Alan Bircher praise for college trio
Director of swimming Alan Bircher has hailed the performances of Ellesmere College swimmers at the European Junior Championships.
Freya Anderson continued her fine form from the Commonwealth Games, where she picked up two bronze medals, with more success in Helsinki earlier this month.
Ellesmere’s contribution was spearheaded by Anderson, who won three golds – half of Great Britain’s total – and a silver. Angharad Evans and Charlie Hutchison also produced fine performances.
She won gold in the 100m freestyle to add to her world junior title in the same distance, before getting her hands on a second gold in the 4x100m relay alongside Lily Boseley, Tatiana Belonogoff and Emily Large.
Her third title was in the 50m freestyle with Anderson just missing out on a fourth gold in the 50m butterfly.
“The week in Helsinki went way better than I expected,” Anderson said. “I was super happy with my swims and even getting a sneaky gold in the 50 free which I didn’t expect.
“I feel I have finally gained my confidence back after a tough 18 months and it’s made me more motivated to train even harder. And to top it off on the last night I had a really good split on the relay which really boosted my confidence.”
On the final day Hutchinson, who made the final in the 400 IM, came fifth finishing three seconds faster than his previous personal best.
Evans was only denied a semi-final place on a technicality. Having posted the 11th fastest qualifying time in qualifying for the 50m breaststroke, Evans was not allowed to progress because two of her GB team-mates had posted faster times and places are restricted to two per country.
“We are delighted to see the continuing success of Freya on the International scene,” said Bircher.
“Angharad’s continuing international selection and Charlie extending his participation in the elite GB is fantastic for each of them and truly deserved.
“The great news is that as good as these three are, they are only a fraction of our current and future international talent pool.”
The European Junior Championships brought together 600 swimmers from 46 different nations with GB finishing third in the medals table.
